Love's Embrace
by Kairiangel035
Summary: 18 year old Serah only has a few months left to live and isn't sure what she wants out of life. When Vanille finds out, she wants nothing more than to help her. Can she really fight Serah's disease and win her love? A Vanerah yuri for MemsNtRain
1. Chapter 1 Nice to meet you

**Love's Embrace**

** Chapter 1: Nice to meet you**

"_Who are you?"_

_ "I'm Vanille, who are you?"_

_ "I'm Serah."_

_ "Serah...why do you cry?"_

"What an odd dream." A girl with dark orange hair yawned as she adjusted her pigtails. She stood up and stretched as she looked down at her village. Vanille always had a strange habit of falling asleep in odd places during random parts of the day. Once she escaped the shade of the tree she started walking perkily through the village. It was a really small town but it was really modern day, as if it were a very small city. Even though the village had some events going on today, none of them held her interest. She kept walking until she came across the small beach that rested at the edge of the village.

"Huh?" she asked herself as she saw a girl siting in the dirt by herself. She had very light pink hair that seemed like it was glowing in the sunlight that was pulled up in a ponytail at the side of her head. Vanille was curious and walked down towards her to see what she was up to.

Serah sat in the sand and lazily ran her finger through it, drawing random pictures as she thought about everything. A month ago she found out she had a rare disease that will kill her if they can't get her the cure, the only problem is that it was near impossible to find. In the end all that Serah was left with were all the questions she'd never find answers too. She asked herself if she lived the life she'd wanted. Her answer was no, she wanted to do so much more with her life. She wanted to be able to go to medical school so she could help people. She also wanted to go out and see the world someday. But most of all she really wanted to find love. Sure, she had a fling with Snow once, but dating someone you grew up with was awkward and he seemed like he would be more of a brother than anything. It was safe to say that relationship didn't last long.

"Hello there." Serah heard a voice call from behind.

She turned around to see a girl a couple years younger standing behind her. She was smiling and seemed to not have a care in the world. "Hello." she smiled back. It was hard to resist the girls smile.

"Mind if I join you." the girl asked as she walked over and stood next to her.

"Sure, I really don't see why not." Serah answered as she continued drawing in the sand.

The girl smiled and sat down. "I'm Vanille by the way. What are you doing down here by yourself?" she asked curiously.

Serah stopped drawing and wrapped her arms around her legs as she turned to look at Vanille. "I was just thinking, and I'm Serah by the way."

"What were you thinking about, Serah?" Vanille asked, she was seriously curious about that part.

She sat and thought about how to answer that for a minute, "Honestly I was thinking about a lot of things."

"Important things?" Vanille asked.

"Yeah, I suppose it would be important." Serah smiled at her, hoping that she would drop it here. Vanille just smiled and looked at the sunset. "How old are you Vanille?"

"I'm sixteen, how old are you?" she answered.

"I just turned eighteen." Serah responded looking down at the sand. It was a sad truth she had to face, eighteen years old and she had to die.

Vanille smiled as she watched the waves sparkle in the setting sun. She didn't mind the sudden silence between her and Serah, in fact she found it comfortable around Serah. She was very friendly and cute on top of that. "Are you with anyone special?" she asked after a while.

Serah looked up from the sand and watched the waves as well. "No, I used to have a boyfriend but that's been over for quite a while now. What about you?"

"No, I used to love someone, but she found someone else." Vanille smiled. "I'm happy for her."

"She?" Serah asked. It was obvious it wasn't a slip of the tongue.

"Yeah, she was my best friend for most of my life, but I guess she liked guys more." Vanille answered honestly.

"Must be tough." Serah laughed a little. "What's it like being in love with a girl?"

"hmm..." Vanille muttered as she looked up at the sky as she thought. "I suppose it's the same as being in love with a boy."

"I suppose I should get going." Serah said as she stood up.

"Aww already?" Vanille whined a little.

"It's getting late and I really shouldn't keep my sister waiting." Serah smiled as she brushed the sand of the back of her skirt.

Vanille turned around and sat on her knees while she looked at Serah. "Can I see you again?"

"I really don't know Vanille." She answered. Time wasn't on her side and the last thing she wanted to do was break another heart.

Vanille sighed a little. "Okay, but can I ask you something before you go? Who was your boyfriend?"

"His name was Snow. He was a pretty good boyfriend I have to admit, but when you grow up together you see each other more like a brother or sister and the relationship just seems awkward." she answered. "What about your friend, what was her name?"

"Her name's Fang." Vanille answered.

Serah laughed a little, "That's Snow's new girlfriend's name."

Vanille smiled a little as Serah laughed. She really did like it when she was happy. "So are you really unsure about seeing me again?"

"You know, I don't think we'll ever be able to see each other again." she answered as a couple tears rolled down her cheek. It hurt her to say those words, knowing that her time was short. She didn't enjoy shutting people out, but it was the only way to keep from hurting them. Before Vanille could argue, Serah ran toward the village as fast as she could.

Vanille watched her slightly shocked and hurt by the fact that she left so quickly. When she was out of sight, she got up and started walking back until she came to the spot where Serah was standing minutes before. There were wet spots on the sand that caught her attention. She crouched down and placed her hand over the dots. "Serah..." she said to herself as she looked back toward the village.

_Authors Note: Phew, finally finished the first chapter of my first yuri fanfic. Sorry if the first chapter isn't that great but it's going to get interesting quickly. This story is also for a friend of mine, it's my thank you present for making me my lovely youtube background. _


	2. Chapter 2 Seeing you again

** Chapter 2: Seeing you again**

"Snow, have you seen Light?" Serah called out as she grabbed her purse.

"Nope, haven't seen her all day." he answered as he shut the fridge door and took a bite out of an apple.

"You know Lightning will kill you for eating that right?" she laughed as the big glob in his mouth moved.

He just shrugged and took another bite, "How would she know it's me? You live here with her you know."

"Simple, I'll tell her that it was you." she answered as she quickly adjusted her strap.

"You just like seeing Lightning beating the crap out of me don't you?" He laughed.

She smiled at him, "That's a possibility."

He smiled and pulled her into a hug. "Take care of yourself." he told her.

"Who do you think I am." She said pulling away and mock punching him in the gut. "Hey that was fun, no wonder why Lightning does it."

"Your so mean." Snow laughed as he placed his hand over the place Serah punched him. "See you later."

"Later!" she called out as she walked out the door.

Vanille was on the other side of the village, looking at stands that were sat up. She enjoyed looking at the set-ups when sales were being held, she'd always find the most interesting things.

"Can I interest the pretty lady in a necklace?" On of the sales people asked as she walked by.

Vanille stopped and started spinning one of the turn stands as she browsed through the necklaces. She came to a stop when she found a necklace that was a silver orb. "I'd like to buy this one sir." She said, calling the guy over. She quickly payed for it and tied it onto her skirt before walking off.

"Ah it's such a nice day out." Vanille cheered to herself as she skipped down the road. As she walked, she didn't pay attention to anything around her and she crashed into someone, knocking them both over.

"I'm so sorry." Vanille said as she pushed herself onto her knees.

"It's okay." The girl responded, sitting up and grabbing her purse.

"Serah?" Vanille asked shocked as she took a good look at the girl in front of her.

"Vanille? What are you doing here?" Serah asked as she started to pick the needles she dropped.

Vanille quickly moved over near Serah and helped her pick up her syringes. "I was just walking around town, what are you doing at..." Vanille looked up and read the sign of the store. "Pharmacy?" then she looked down and read the label on the needle. "You're sick?" she asked shocked.

Serah quickly pulled the syringe out of Vanille's hand and stuck it in her purse. "That's none of your business." she said with a bit of acid in her tone, causing Vanille to flinch.

"I'm just trying to help." Vanille sighed looking at the ground.

"And if I was sick, what would you do to help?" Serah asked.

Vanille looked at the ground for a moment as Serah walked away. "Fang had the same thing you know. There is a cure and I know where to get it."

Serah turned around and crouched down next to her, placing her hand on Vanille's shoulder. "Do you know where to get it?" she asked with a little hope in her voice. "Could you take me there?"

Vanille nodded as she stood up, "Yeah, it's in the next town just past those mountains." she answered as she pointed toward the left.

"Okay, just let me run to my house real quick then we can go." Serah said getting back to her feet.

Once Serah started walking Vanille followed closely behind. "When you say we, do you mean..."

"You and me of course. Who else is going to help me get there?" Serah smiled at her. Vanille Smiled a little and started skipping at her side.

"What do you mean I can't go?" Serah yelled at Snow

"It's way to dangerous. Lightning would kill me if I let you go." Snow answered.

"So Me staying here and dying is a better idea?" She yelled back. Vanille just stood in the corner and watched at their argument grew more heated every minute.

"I say let the girl go." A woman with black hair with red highlights said. She was a few years older than Serah and had tattoos on her arms.

Snow quickly turned his attention on the woman. "Fang, are you crazy? She could get killed."

"Her staying here is what's going to get her killed. Since she could possibly die either way, I'd rather that she'd be killed trying to save her life. On top of that she's an adult now, she can do what she wants whether you like it or not." She told him, keeping calm the whole time.

"Fine, she can go." Snow sighed in defeat.

Vanille smiled, "Thank you so much. Thanks for the help Fang."

"Any time kid." Fang smiled back as she turned the other way.

"What is everyone doing in my house?" Serah asked herself as she grabbed a backpack and started filling it with food and everything else they would need.

"Everyone's here because you have a very nice house." Fang said as she handed Serah her syringes.

"Are we ready to go?" Vanille asked a few minutes later. Serah nodded at her as she flung the backpack over her shoulder. "Let's go!" Vanille cheered as she opened the door.

They walked in silence for a while, but it was a comfortable silence. Vanille was walking really close to Serah, but didn't seem to mind her being that close at all. After a few minutes she finally worked up the courage to hold Serah's hand. When she did, Serah shuddered a little but didn't pull her hand away. Vanille wondered if Serah had felt the same spark she did.

"Looks like rain." Serah commented when she looked up at the sky when they reached the path that lead up the mountain.

"Hopefully it'll hold off for a while." Vanille said as they started making their climb up.

_Authors Note: The second chapter is finally done. I'm not sure how well I'm doing so far though because this is my first yuri fanfic. Three chapters left! Hopefully everyone is enjoying it so far._


	3. Chapter 3 Rainy day wonders

** Chapter 3: Rainy day wonders**

"You were right Serah, it was rain." Vanille said as they made it a quarter of the way up the mountain. She had a feeling it would and she was thankful for the whole time that it held off, because it did they were making good time.

Serah smiled at her companion who had now taken the lead. "You can kind of tell when it will by watching the clouds." She said.

Vanille turned around to face her as she kept walking toward her. "How do you know so much?" she asked Serah curiously.

"Lightning taught me a lot of what I know. She's really smart and she felt I needed to be prepared for anything." She smiled at Vanille.

"Who's Lightning?" she asked as her and Serah fell into step with each other.

"She's my sister of course." Serah laughed her carefree laugh that Vanille loved so much.

Vanille smiled, "It must have been nice having someone always looking after you."

"It was most of the time." Serah giggled.

It was silent for a long while before Vanille said anything again. "So Serah, what are you going to do when you're better?"

Serah looked forward as she answered. It was raining really hard now and it was nearly impossible to see. "Well for starters, I want to go to medical school." she explained.

"That's a good plan." Vanille nodded with a smile. "Anything else you want to do?"

Serah looked down unselfconsciously then looked back up at Vanille. "This is going to sound weird but, I want to fall in love. I don't mean the cute dating 'look at us we're together' thing, I mean to really fall in love and wanting to spend the rest of your lives together kind of love." It was an odd feeling telling an almost complete stranger that, but she trusted this stranger more than most people.

"I don't think it's weird at all. I'd think most people would want that." Vanille answered in a kind and gentle voice. "Serah, Look out! You're walking too close to the edge!" She screamed out.

Serah Looked at Vanille oddly, "What are you talking a-." her sentence was quickly cut off by a scream as she lost footing and fell off the edge.

Vanille quickly dived and grabbed her hand. "Hold on!" Vanille cried out as she tried her best to keep a tight grip on Serah's hand.

Serah tried her hardest to keep a hold of Vanille's hand but with the rain making their skin all slippery it was nearly impossible. "I'm trying." Serah cried out in a strained voice.

As Vanille tried to pull her up, Serah's hand slid further out of her hand. On the second pull she lost her footing, almost sending them both plummeting to their death. "I'm going to get you out of this, just hold on." She called out to Serah as she leaned over the edge to reach for her other hand.

Serah just sighed as her hand slipped a little more, "Vanille just give up! At the rate this going we're both going to get killed!" She called out.

"No, I'm not going to give up on you!" Vanille yelled back at her as she offered her and out for Serah's other hand.

"Why the hell not?" Serah yelled at her. She couldn't understand why she just didn't let go to save herself.

"Because I love you that's why! I know you might not feel that way about me but I'm not going to let you go." Vanille said as tears started to fall from her eyes, but with all the rain that was falling it was hard for anyone to tell.

Shock flooded through Serah as Vanille's words sank in. She couldn't find her voice to say anything back, all she could do was stare. A few seconds later she figured out how to move again. She quickly gave Vanille her other hand and swung her feet toward the side of the ledge. When her feet collided with the wall of rock, she pushed herself up as Vanille tugged on her hands. Once she was up, Serah and Vanille stared at each other and broke out laughing. "Thank you." Serah smiled.

"No problem." Vanille smiled back. "We should probably get out of the rain though. C'mon, there's a little cave not to far from here."

They both got up and made the short walk up to the cave. Once they were there, they gathered some firewood and Serah set it on fire with a match she had packed. "I suppose we should get out of these wet clothes huh?" Serah asked as they sat on opposite sides of the fire.

"I suppose so." Vanille nodded as Serah started to undo the buttons on her white tang top. She turned around and quickly threw off her pink top and short skirt to reveal a dark orange bra with black lace around it and matching panties. When she sat back down she kept her eyes to the floor.

"It's okay, you can look." Serah reassured Vanille after a minute. When Vanille looked up, Serah was wearing a light blue bra with white straps but was still wearing her pink plaid skirt with black lace on the bottom.

It was silent for a long time as they sat around the fire trying to warm up. Vanille couldn't think of anything really to say to Serah right now, especially since she confessed her love for her. She was afraid their relationship might be awkward. Vanille looked around the cave until she came to her skirt, which her and Serah hung up to dry and saw the necklace she had bought earlier dangling off of it. "I Have something for you." Vanille said as she got up and walked over to her skirt.

"What is it?" Serah asked curiously as Vanille untied it and walked over and sat behind her.

"It's a necklace, I bought it earlier today and thought you might like it." Vanille explained to her as she tied it around Serah's neck. "Consider it a gift for being my friend."

Serah took the little orb part in her hand and examined it. "It's beautiful, I have something for you too." she said as she reached into her pocket.

Vanille watched as Serah pulled out a deep blue crystal tear attached to a small chain big enough to tie around someone's wrist. "It's a bracelet my sister bought me after our parents died in a car crash. I cried all the time and she said that my tears were like little crystals, so she bought me this crystal and said it was to help replace all the crystals I lost." She explained as she hooked the bracelet onto Vanille's wrist. "I guess you could conciser it a two day anniversary gift."

Vanille looked surprised before tackling her to the ground and hugging her. "Thank you so much, I really love it."

"Hey Vanille." Serah said after a minute, "I love you too." she wasn't sure how true those words were right now, but it felt like she needed to say them.

After spending a couple hours lying on the ground and talking about whatever came to mind Serah asked, "Hey Vanille, you said Fang had the same thing I had, how do you know when you're close to dying?"

"You slip into a coma, then after that you have about thirty-six to forty-eight hours left." Vanille answered. "Fang slipped into a coma, but we already had the cure for it then."

Serah yawned a little. "I guess I'm still okay then."

"You'll be just fine." Vanille smiled.

Serah then rolled over and wrapped her arms around Vanille and pulled her in closer. "Well I'm tired, good night."

"Good night Serah." Vanille said before wrapping her arms around Serah and closing her eyes. She fell asleep quickly pressed against Serah's warm body.


	4. Chapter 4 Running out of time

** Chapter 4: Running out of time**

Vanille awoke the next morning and gently slid out of Serah's arms, trying not to wake her up. Once she was up, she walked over to her now dry clothes still hanging up. When she was dressed she turned and smiled as she saw Serah peacefully sleeping on the floor. In her heart she honestly didn't want to wake Serah up from her peaceful slumber, but time wasn't on their side so they had to keep moving.

"Serah, it's time to wake up." Vanille said as she gently shook her friend. Most people would have woken up from that, if not at least stirred a little. But Serah remained completely motionless. Vanille shook her harder, calling out her name but still got no response.

She placed her hand on Serah's neck to check her pulse. Her heart was still beating but it was faint. Vanille gasped as she jumped up. Serah had slipped into a coma and time was running out. Vanille panicked a bit but quickly calmed down enough to think. She grabbed Serah's shirt to redress her. Once that as out of the way, Vanille turned around and ran out of the cave. It was still chilly outside but it didn't bother her one bit, she knew with all the running she was going to be doing she'd be hot shortly.

It was about an hour to get to where she needed to be and she was running short on time. She ran as she slid down the other side of the mountain. The cold air had frozen over the previous nights rain, but it didn't slow Vanille down one bit.

Once she reached the bottom she stopped for a minute to catch her breath. After that she calmly walked into the village looking for the pharmacy. It only took her five minutes to find and walked in. At that moment she was thankful that she knew the people who ran it.

Sitting behind the counter with his feet propped up on it was a boy around Vanille's age reading a magazine. He looked up and jumped a little when he saw who it was. "Vanille?" He asked as he put his feet on the floor and put the magazine down.

Hope had always had a crush on Vanille ever since they started going to school together back in third grade. It broke his heart when he found out she only liked girls but he had promised himself he'd always be there for her when she needed him. "How have you been Hope?" she asked him as he crossed the room and hugged her.

"You know running the pharmacy and all, and I found a new girl." he smiled. "What brings you here?"

"Well...." she started, "My friends very sick and she needs the cure."

Hope walked back behind the counter as he talked. "That nasty stuff Fang had last year?" He asked as he flipped a panel to a secret compartment.

She nodded, "The very same."

"How bad is it right now?" he asked her as he filled a syringe with some form of clear fluid.

Vanille sighed as she looked down, "She's in a coma now."

Hope nodded as he put the syringe in a protective case. "That's not good." he said as he punched in a code into the register. "This stuff isn't cheap you know." he mumbled once it opened.

She sighed knowing she didn't have enough money to pay, "I don't have the money and I really need it."

"I know." he said as he took some money out of his pocket and threw it in the register. "I got you covered."

She looked at him shocked. "Hope, you don't have to do that."

He just smiled at her. "Don't worry I'll just end up getting it back tomorrow anyway. Are you hungry by any chance."

Vanille nodded but turned for the door anyway. "I really need to go." she told him

"I know, we'll be really quick and I'll give you a ride half way. I'd bring you the whole way but it's really windy today and the path is pretty slippery.

"Thank you Hope, that's really nice of you." she smiled at him.

"Hop on." Hope called to Vanille as he started up his moped.

Vanille quickly hopped on, "I'm very grateful to you and your family."

After Nora made them a quick breakfast, Hope took out his moped and started talking about how he was going for his motorcycle license next. She had to admit he was good with anything that had an engine and moved.

"Don't worry about it, we're always there when you need us." Hope smiled. "Hold on tight." he told her as he revved his engine and took off. "This is as far as I can take you." he side five minutes later. The wind was becoming to strong for him to handle and it was almost knocking them off the side of the mountain.

"That's okay, thank you for everything." Vanille called out as she jumped of the moped and started running. She couldn't complain because he took her a lot farther than he said he would. Now it was only a fifteen minute walked instead of an hour.

Vanille was already running and out of sight before Hope was able to turn around.


	5. Chapter 5 Awakening

** Chapter 5: Awakening**

"Hold on Serah, I'm here." Vanille cooed when she got back to the cave exhausted from running. She quickly opened the protective case and pulled out the syringe. Once it was out, she brought it to eye level and examined the clear liquid inside. After she knew it was the right amount she gently pushed the needle into Serah's arm and plunged the fluid into her bloodstream.

Vanille bit the bottom of her lip and held her breath as she waited for the drug to kick in. All of her worries about not making it on time were erased when Serah drew in a sharp breath of air and her eyes slowly fluttered open. "Good morning Vanille." she said as she slowly sat up.

"Thank goodness you're okay." Vanille said all choked up as tears started running down her cheeks.

Once Serah sat up all the way she smiled at Vanille a little. "Of course I'm okay, why wouldn't I be."

Vanille wiped away her tears as she tried to answer. In that moment she had let out all her fear she couldn't show earlier and all the happiness she was feeling now. "You slipped into a coma, so I ran out and grabbed the cure for you. That's why your awake now."

"I...slipped?" Serah asked sounding like she was denying it in a very confused way.

Vanille nodded. "But your alright now. You're not sick anymore."

Serah moved closer to her and brushed the last of her tears away. "Thank you for everything Vanille."

Vanille wrapped her arms around Serah's waist and hugged her tight. Serah blushed a little but quickly hugged her back. "It's going to take us forever to get back home." Vanille said.

"No it won't, I'll call Snow and tell him to pick us up." Serah smiled as she pulled out a cell phone and started punching in a number.

"Would he really pick us up?" Vanille asked curiously

Serah smiled mischievously as she brought the phone to her, "He better or I'll make sure my sister kicks his ass." Vanille giggled a little before she quieted herself so Serah could talk. "Hey Snow, it's me. Could you come give us a ride?" there was silence before she talked again. "Because I have things I could blackmail you with...then there's always Lightning." Serah giggled again before saying "Thank you." then she hung up.

"Well?" Vanille asked.

Serah smiled and stood up, offering her hand to Vanille. "He's coming to get us, but we have to start walking down a little and meet him."

Vanille took Serah's hand and smiled as they left the cave and started heading back to their village. "It's nice of him to come pick us up." Vanille commented as she looked at the sun that was hanging over the village below.

"Yeah _nice_." Serah laughed taking Vanille's hand. They walked in silence together for a few minutes before Serah stopped walking.

"What's wrong Serah?" Vanille asked as she turned toward her. Serah didn't say anything but gently pushed Vanille onto the rocks on the side of the mountain and pressed her lips to hers. Vanille was caught off guard for a minute but then kissed her back.

"I thought you said you needed a ride, not calling me to come watch your make out fest." Snow called out over the roar of an engine.

Serah and Vanille broke apart to see Snow and Fang getting off a motorcycle. Fang just smiled at them. "You two better get on before Snow changes his mind."

"How are you going to get back?" Snow asked Fang once Serah and Vanille were on the bike.

Fang just gave him a cocky grin. "I have ties with Lightning, I'll just call her and have her send someone to fly me back."

He looked confused. "You couldn't have someone fly them back?" he asked pointing his thumb over his shoulder towards the bike.

"I could have, but they need to spend some time together. They're young and in love, probably a bit confused as well. Especially the pink haired one." Both of them turned around to see Serah sitting behind Vanille with her arms wrapped around her waist and her head buried into Vanille's back.

"I wonder what Lightning will have to say about this." Snow laughed as he scratched the back of his head.

"I'm sure she'd be fine with it as long as it's not you. She really hates you ya know." Fang smiled.

Snow laughed and walked towards his bike with a waiting Serah and Vanille. "See you back home." he called out.

_One Week Later..._

"Here you go." Vanille called out running next to Serah with cotton candy in hand.

Serah opened her eyes, unclasped her hand and turned to face Vanille. "Thank you Vanille." she smiled as she took off some cotton candy and stuck it in her mouth.

"What were you doing." Vanille asked curiously as she put some cotton candy in her mouth.

Serah turned to point at the fireworks shooting off in the night sky. "I was making a wish. My sister and I would come here every year and she told me to make a wish on the fireworks because it would come true."

"Really?" Vanille asked. "I want to try." she said as she passed the cotton candy to Serah and closed her eyes and lowered her head. A minute later she reopened her eyes and smiled at Serah.

"What did you wish for?" Serah asked curiously as she tore off another piece of cotton candy and handed it back to Vanille.

"You tell me your wish first." Vanille smiled.

Serah just gave her a playful eye roll and sighed, "I wished to spend more time with you." she answered as she leaned over the railing and watched the fireworks.

Vanille looked surprised and smiled. "That's what I wished for too."

Serah just turned and smiled at her. "I think that can be arranged." Vanille smiled at her before leaning in and planting a kiss on Serah's lips. Then Vanille took Serah's hand and they both ran off together onto the pier to get a better view of the fireworks.

_Authors Note: This is the very last chapter of my first yuri fanfic. I kind of like the way this story turned out really. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. =)_


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